No bail for Worcester firefighter facing gun, threatening charges

Wednesday

Jan 9, 2013 at 12:00 PMJan 9, 2013 at 6:59 PM

By Scott J. Croteau TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

A probationary city firefighter accused of threatening his estranged wife and having a dozen guns, including military style assault rifles, in his home was held without bail today in Central District Court pending a dangerousness hearing Friday. He does not have a firearms identification card, police said.

The father of Jonathan Peters, 29, of Indiana Street, said his son is an U.S. Army veteran and the weapons were part of collection.

“He is a military buff,” said Mr. Peters' father, who declined to give his name. “He loves military hardware. It's blown out of proportion really.”

Mr. Peters' estranged wife, apparently had a gun license for the weapons, but does not live with her husband anymore.

“It is my understanding that both he and his wife were collectors,” Mr. Peters' lawyer Anthony M. Salerno said. “The social conscious now with weapons, especially anything in excess of a sporting weapon, is going to trigger this type of reaction. These weapons were all in the confines of his home. He wasn't doing anything unusual with them.”

Mr. Peters' father said his son had no malicious intent, and the guns were registered in Georgia by his son. The mistake was that his son did not have a firearms identification card here, he said.

Fire officials said Mr. Peters' arrest is still being reviewed and a decision on his employment status has not yet been determined.

Mr. Peters was arrested at the McKeon Road fire station yesterday afternoon as his shift came to an end. He joined the Worcester Fire Department in June.

Mr. Peters' arrest came after a police investigation of a domestic stalking investigation. His estranged wife told police her husband had firearms in his home. Authorities said Mr. Peters did not cooperate with police when he was ordered to turn in his firearms after his wife received an abuse prevention order in Central District Court yesterday.

Police executed a search warrant at Mr. Peters' home and allegedly found six rifles, four handguns, one shotgun, one sawed-off shotgun and a dozen high capacity magazines and ammunition, police said.

“Prior to the search of the dwelling, police learned that Jonathan Peters does not have a license to carry firearms in the state of Massachusetts nor does he have a valid FID card,” police said in a news release.

The estranged wife sought and received an abuse prevention order, claiming Mr. Peters' threatened to kill her and continually followed her, according to court records.

She told police the couple has been married for six years, but on a couple of occasions this month Mr. Peters had followed her around and yelled at her.

“Another day, he began sending threatening text messages,” police said in court records.

The estranged wife said her husband's behavior has caused her emotional distress and fear. She claims Mr. Peters threatened to kill her when she mentioned obtaining an abuse prevention order, according to court records.

Mr. Peters has been charged with stalking, possession of a sawed-off shotgun, and multiple counts of possession of firearms and ammunition without an FID card, improper storage of a firearm, and possession of a large-capacity weapon or feeding device. Police said additional charges are pending.